Veterans bill awaits governor’s signature

A bill awaiting the governor’s signature would name a 14-mile stretch of Route 44 between Route 3 in Plymouth and Interstate 495 in Middleboro the “Gold Star Highway” in honor of deceased veterans and their families.

BOSTON – A bill awaiting the governor’s signature would name a 14-mile stretch of Route 44 between Route 3 in Plymouth and Interstate 495 in Middleboro the “Gold Star Highway” in honor of deceased veterans and their families.

The bill would expand the 2012 Valor Act for veterans by extending tax breaks and providing more employment opportunities. It passed the Legislature on Thursday.

“Massachusetts always leads the way in recognizing veterans, and this bill strengthens the language of Valor Act I,” said Rep. Michael Brady, D-Brockton.

The governor is expected to sign the legislation into law when he is back in the State House at the end of the week. He was originally going to make his decision Tuesday, but a meeting at North Adams Regional Hospital altered that plan.

The bill is intended to heighten recognition of and respect for military service, including by the naming of the stretch of Route 44.

“You hate to lose anyone, but the least we can do is recognize them,” Brady said.

If the bill becomes law, anyone who creates disturbance within 500 feet of a military funeral service could be punished with a fine of $2,000 and two years of imprisonment.

For living veterans, one of the legislation’s important elements is requiring that veterans services officers receive training and certification, said Matthew McKenna, spokesman for the state Department of Veterans Services.

“It would ensure that the front-line resources are the finest-trained and most knowledgeable veterans’ advocates in the country,” McKenna said.

He said standardizing services across the state would improve benefits beginning at the community level.

A commission would be created to study the merits of having an Office of Veterans Employment and Business Assistance, and a two-year program would develop a model for a potential veterans criminal court, which could deal with an offender’s special circumstances.

State Rep. Claire Cronin, D-Easton, said Massachusetts is “No. 1 in the nation for veterans services, and there are little ways and big ways to continue helping veterans.”